Lt Gen Manoj Pandey set to become New Army Chief; Gen Naravane likely to be Next CDS

New Delhi: With the Chief of Army Staff General MM Naravane retiring next week, the stage is all set for Vice Chief Lieutenant General Manoj Pande to take over the reins of the Indian Army as per the seniority principle. Lt Gen Pandey is the senior-most officer in the Army after COAS General Naravane.

Though Southern Army Commander, Lt Gen J S Nain and Lt Gen Pande are from the same batch, but the IC Number, a unique five-digit number which is allotted at the time of commissioning based on the individual's order of merit in IMA, of Vice Chief makes him the senior most.

If his name is announced, Lt Gen Pande would be the first officer from the Corps of Engineers to reach to the top position. Till now, only Armoured Corps, Artillery and Infantry officers have made it to the Army Chief.

On the other hand, the incumbent Chief Gen Naravane is considered to be the frontrunner for the post of Chief of Defence Staff, which fell vacant following the demise of Gen Bipin Rawat in a helicopter crash.

The Army Chief is also holding the charge of the acting chairman of  the powerful Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC) which comprises of all the three service chiefs. The post of COSC Chairman is held by the CDS, who is also the Secretary of the Department of Military Affairs, and Principle Advisor to the Defence Minister.

Sources in the Defence Ministry said to Defence Watch that possibility of appointing Gen Naravane to the top post is high considering his overall performance as well as the handling of the eastern Ladakh standoff.

Gen Naravane is also the senior-most among the three service chiefs, they added.

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